Australia's enormous wind power potential

AUSTRALIA has enough onshore wind resources to power the entire country’s electricity more than 12 times over, new research shows.

The Australian Wind Alliance will launch its Wind Power in Australia report to celebrate 30 years of wind energy generation across the country.

The report, conducted by the University of Technology Sydney’s Institute for Sustainable Futures, reveals the latest information about wind energy and compares Australia's power potential with other countries across the globe.

Wind was found to be in ample supply across the continent and also the cheapest way to generate new energy.

The average cost of electricity from a wind farm in Australia has more than halved since 2000, where it was $150 per megawatt hour, it is now approximately from $60 per MWH.

National Coordinator for the AWA, Andrew Bray said Australia is uniquely positioned to be a world leader in terms of wind energy generation.

“We’ve got the wind resources on hand right now to power this country 12 times over, and yet Australia generates just six per cent of electricity use from wind power” Mr Bray said.

“There’s enormous opportunity to close the gap between the potential for wind energy and the actual generated use.”

"But without an adequate renewable policy, Australia risks missing out on a significant boost to jobs, economic growth and sustainability," Mr Bray said.